Catching Up

Where has the week gone, time is flying by.  Trekking over the moor three times this week is taking its toil and jobs are been left.  Tomorrow is another day, I am not going to stress out about minor details.  In the grand scheme of things, we are doing well and over a period of time some of the smaller jobs that need doing will indeed get done.  Gerard did have a minor set back with his blood pressure this week but we are hoping that a few adjustments to his medication will help.  He has also had a slight flare up of RA which is not helping.  Some of his medication has been stopped due to the heart medications.  We are seeing the rheumatology consultant on Tuesday so it is hoped that this will help.  We have no real plans for the weekend but if the weather holds maybe some little jobs in the garden may get done.

We have been a little late getting our seeds sorted and started but finally yesterday we made a vague plan of the things we wanted and started off several trays of seeds.  It is such a good feeling to know that very soon we will have a herb garden, albeit a very small one.  We have found someone to help with the work on the outbuildings so hopefully a start will be made soon.  Our dream to have an indoor garden, a craft room and woodwork room lives on and very slowly we are determined that we will fulfil this dream.

In all fairness there has not been a lot of waiting around at the hospital so the crochet projects planned have not all got done.  I have been working on some coasters to be used for gifts and are a very quick make.

The sun shining through the window is making shadows and giving a dappled light, disguising the true colour of the wool.  They will need to be blocked but overall are a very practical but decorative gift, which are fun to make and carry around.

A neighbour gave me a beautiful vase made locally at Borve (Borgh) pottery which is a delight to wander around, but I will share that for another post.  I have used it several times to hold fresh flowers and it does look magnificent on the dining table.

It is still a work in progress but I would like to make an arrangement using some of the things that I love buttons and tweed.  I am not sure how this will work out visually but I do have a very vague idea of what I want it to look like in my mind.  Time will tell...

I have been a little remiss catching up with you all this week but I am hopeful that I will be able to visit your blog and catch up with your news soon.  A warm welcome to new followers I sincerely hope you enjoy my little adventures through life.  As always I do thank you for your comments and emails it is always so uplifting to read them.  Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

See you soon.

Weekend

We had the quiet weekend that we planned enjoying each others company and catching up with some little projects.  I finally finished Hector's quilt, it was packed and posted off to him this morning.

We had some unexpected visitors, our neighbour came to do some crafting and stayed to bake a cake to take home for their tea.

We also had some woolly visitors, that somehow got through two fences to visit our garden.

We did have some fun trying to get them back but it is always nice to have visitors.  Reading and catching up with the family was also on the agenda. I say this regularly, how did we ever survive before the age of all this technology that enables us to keep in touch?  I also had another surprise parcel from a fellow blogger bringing so much joy.  Nothing beats the excitement of opening mail.

We have another busy week with medical appointments covering three days this week.  But I am happy to say that Gerard continues to improve each day and for that I am thankful.

See you soon.

HMY Iolaire Memorial

Last month was the unveiling of the new memorial to the 201 victims of the Iolaire tragedy of almost 100 years ago.  A new memorial cairn was unveiled in Cam gardens next to the town hall,  Each individual stone on the cairn represents one of the victims collected around the Islands to represent the individuals village or community.  The cairn carefully documenting where each man came from.

A wonderful tribute and surrounded by such a beautiful building which in itself holds so much history.

It is quite a poignant memorial which remembers lives lost as young as 17, so it was quite fitting that students from the Nicolson Institute had been involved at every stage of the process, the design, the construction and even the unveiling service.

We continued with a walk around the harbour, catching glimpses of the castle and choosing our favourite yacht to sail away into the sunset.

We have no real plans for the weekend, other than making a start with some seeds and pottering in the garden if we are lucky with the weather.  Hope you have a wonderful weekend and that the weather is good for you. 

See you soon.

Changeable Weather

What a difference a day makes!  From having such a great weekend weather wise, it certainly went down hill all the way Monday evening.  We had such a storm, gale force winds, rain, rain and more rain.  Tuesday of the 27 ferry routes to the different Western Isles 26 of them were delayed or cancelled.  I obviously spoke too soon.  All outdoor activities are once again on hold.  We lit the stove, made some soup and enjoyed some indoor pursuits.  Crafting...

First up thank you cards, not before time.

I really enjoyed the process as I thought about the wonderful cards and gifts that I had received.

There are so many bugs and virus's doing the rounds at the moment so I made some tissue holders as little gifts for those that are suffering.  A little something to let them know I was thinking of them.

Anybody that has followed me for awhile, will know my love of buttons in all their guises.  The collection is starting to get a little out of hand so I thought I would get some out and have a play around.  A little bouquet in the making...

I picked out a Wide selection of colours, styles and sizes and had a couple of hours of fun.  Wiring some little flowers together.

Putting it all together was great fun, and will make a great addition to the table when I don't have fresh flowers.

Just because...

...and I also had to share the amazing skies.

This changeable weather has been a tease for awhile, I live in hope that this was just a blip and that we will be back on track with some better weather.

See you soon.

Weekend

Saturday was the third annual Harris Tweed bike ride here on the Island so we did catch glimpses of  it as we ran our errands around Stornoway.

All the riders wore Harris Tweed outfits or accessories and it certainly was a feast for the eyes.  I loved the bright colours and the amazing cycle with the trailer was such fun.

It must have been a great relief for the organisers to wake to such a fine day.  The weather certainly makes a big difference to some of the events.  Seeing the sun shining and casting its shadows is a joy to behold and enhances even the most menial of tasks.  A start had been made on painting the tyres that I want to use as planters.  They are going to be painted red with black spots, a ladybird in the making.

I have bought several bags of compost but intend to mix a little peat and sand together for the base to save on the expense, they will certainly take some filling.

The daffodils are growing in clumps around the cottage, a sure sign that Spring is finally making an appearance.

Seeing the lambs was also such a treat reinforcing the feeling that the seasons have now changed and giving us hope that better weather is on the way.  The marking on the ewes show how many lambs they are carrying when they are scanned, one stripe = single, two stripes = twins.  Each ewe usually has a mark which denotes their croft so if they go to common grazing on the machair each crofter knows their own sheep.  Hope that helps.

Not sure what the purple was on the lamb in the previous post but will check with my neighbour next time I see them.  What a difference a change in the weather makes, we have a renewed energy and have started to make plans once again.  Gerard's rehabilitation thankfully is been done on the Island but it does mean driving backwards and forwards to town, taking about 40 minutes each way.  A minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things.  The sun setting over the croft is always a joy to behold and gives us renewed strength for another day.

As always thank you so much for all your lovely comments and a very warm welcome to a new follower, I hope you enjoy our little adventures through life.

See you soon.